Reinventing the Clean Plate Club

Like many of you who grew up in the 70’s and 80’s, I was a victim of the Clean Plate Club.  With parents who grew up in modest households, we, their more fortunate offspring, were not allowed to let anything go to waste on our dinner plate. And I mean ANYTHING. I still shudder thinking about the time when my Dad made me sit at the dinner table for an hour after everyone else left until I ate the last damn pea on my plate. I love peas now, but when I was seven, I hated them so much that it gave me the chills. Our family still laughs about that incident!

In the kitchen with my Mom and brother, Doug

Now that I’m a Mom of two little boys, there is one thing that I pledged never to do and that is, make my children become members of the CPC. I’m a pretty happy camper even if they eat half of their meal and make an attempt to try something that they’ve never tried before.  In our house, the Clean Plate Club has nothing to do with eating everything on your plate.  As a member of the Clean Plate Club, you are served a plate of food that is wholesome, filled with greens, veggies or legumes and unprocessed food.  When meat is served it is organic and if we’re eating grains, they are usually whole wheat.

For those of you interested in joining the Clean Plate Club, fear not, membership is easy!  This club is not boring or tasteless, and it’s relatively inexpensive.  The CPC takes an old school – back to basics approach to eating and living.  What’s more, you can ease into your membership – start small and gradually immerse yourself in this way of eating, crowding out all the bad foods on your plates with the good ones. Need help enrolling in the CPC? Message me and I’ll help you out.

Eating Clean Green Beans: Green Beans with Lemon and Pine Nuts

1 – 1.5 lb. fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into 1/2″ pieces
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
2-3 T. chopped fresh parsley
1 1/2 t. finely grated lemon zest
4-5 t. extra virgin olive oil
add-ons: arugula or spinach, feta

Cook beans in a 4 qt. saucepan of boiling water until just tender, about 5 mins, then drain well.
Transfer to a bowl and toss with remaining ingredients, S+P. Enjoy!